Merriam-Webster defines allergy as “a medical condition that causes someone to become sick after eating, touching, or breathing something that is harmless to most people.”

According to FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education), as many as 15 million people have food allergies. 9 million or 4% of adults suffer from food related allergies and 6 million or 8% of all children have them.

There is no known cure for food allergies. Some people become sensitive to certain foods as an adult while others find that they have “grown out” of ones they suffered from as a child.

There are many theories about why food allergies are so prevalent now. Some think that there have been food allergies throughout history but that advances in medical care have allowed people to survive reactions where they may not have had survived before. Other believe that processed food is to blame. Still many other people believe that our environment has attributed to the rise in these allergies.

It seems like everyone either has allergies themselves or knows people with them. It is useless to postulize the origin of allergic reactions to food. What seems important is to be sensitive to those who struggle with food allergies and to be accommodating and sympathetic to special requests or concerns.

Do you have the type of family that enjoys repeat recipes every one or two weeks? Or is your family like mine and need a six month rotation? My family is high maintenance!! Not only do they not want to repeat a protein in a week, but if I make the same item more than once a quarter, I have a rebellion on my hands.

No matter which side of the spectrum your family falls, it is important to keep records of the meals that your family enjoys. Doing so will allow you to understand preferences and trends. You may find, for example, that chicken can be served multiple times a week if the preparations are diverse.

I recommend keeping a little diary in your kitchen. At the end of each day, jot down what your family ate that day. You do not have to give great detail. Add little notes of things that work for your family and others that do not. An example would be:

I also keep all the recipes that I use, if I do indeed use a recipe, in a binder so that I could refer back to meals I have made in the past. I write all over the recipes with changes that I made and how the family liked it or not. If they did not, I actually get rid of the recipe so that I do not make it again.

After a few months, you will not only have a little custom cookbook just for your family, but also you will realize what your family really loves and what is not worth making.